Pascal’s Wager / Divine Foreknowledge

Pascal’s Wager

❏Blaise Pascal

❏Pascal's Wager is an argument that belief in the existence of God is in a rational person's best interest.

Pascal’s Wager

The idea is that if I am simply trying to determine whether it is better for me to believe or not believe, I should weigh my options.

Believe Don't Believe

God Exists Infinite gain Infinite loss

God Doesn't Exist Finite something Finite something  

Pascal’s Wager

Pascal sees belief as a benefit even if God doesn’t exist. Whether you view a life of belief as positive or negative is irrelevant if God doesn’t exist. The point is that it would be a finite amount gained or lost.

Believe Don't Believe

God Exists Infinite gain Infinite loss

God Doesn't Exist Finite something

Cons: - missed opportunities (i.e. drugs, sex, alcohol)

Pros: - Spiritual comfort, peace

Finite something

Cons: - lack of spiritual comfort

Pros: - living as you wish

  

Pascal’s Wager

As far as Pascal sees the situation, even the smallest chance for infinite pleasure (Heaven) is worth any finite cost, just as he feels that any limited gain that a person could receive would never be worth risking an eternity of pain and torment.

  

Pascal’s Wager – problems

❏ Selfish motive - some people try to attack Pascal by arguing that if you come to believe in God for these reasons then you have the wrong motivation and are somehow cheating.

❏ Leap of faith - how exactly do you get to the belief in God after you determine it is a good idea to believe? ❏ Pascal you should act as though you believe and go through the motions

until you wake up one way with sincere belief. Whether this technique is something that would work is probably up for debate.

❏ Example – becoming an honest man through telling the truth.

  

Boethius and omniscience - 475-524 CE

❏ The puzzle – if God is omniscient (all-knowing), God already knows what I will do tomorrow, so in what sense am I free to do whatever I like tomorrow morning?

❏ If it is true that God knows that tomorrow morning I will get up at 9:05 AM, there seems to be a problem with a scenario where I want to sleep in a bit more.

❏ If God is perfectly knowledgeable then He cannot be wrong, but if there isn't the slightest chance God could be wrong about this, it seems hard to say how I am free to get up whenever I like.

  

Boethius and omniscience

❏ So the issue of free will seems to come right up against being all knowing with regards to the future. Boethius comes up with a solution that tries to preserve both our freedom and God's perfect knowledge of what will occur.

❏ Boethius - God is outside of time, so that the past, present and future are all the same with respect to God. ❏ God knows what you will do tomorrow in the same sense that you know

what will happen in a movie you have already seen. You are separate from the movie’s timeframe. God isn't necessary making you get up at 9:05, He just happens to be in a position (outside time) where such knowledge is accessible to Him.

  

Boethius and omniscience

❏ Take for instance a circle. God is at the center of the circle. From any point on the edge, the exact center is always the same distance away.

❏ In our lives inside time we are moving along the edge of the circle, and yes, from that view it would be odd to know what will happen, but God, from His timeless viewpoint, has no difficulty, each time looks the same to Him.